Snookers

I LOVE the concept of snooker

all that thinking in one place ... and it works for velcro dogs too - I can take as long as I want in the opening and see how far I can get in the closing

From the very first time I tried it at Morningstar in May 2007 I was hooked... I think it might be fair to say snookers is a cause of my addiction to agility. Brody and I laid out a thinking course - red - 6 point teeter- red- 6 point teeter - red- 7 point weaves and then he was in the perfect place to start the closing ... number 2 tunnel; 3 tunnel; 4 aframe; 5 long spread out sequence of jumps (our downfall- we took wayyy too long here) and then back on 6 the teeter ...SCREEEEEEEEEE the whistle blew as the board was tipping- making our first snookers outing just ONE point short of what we needed- actually I was glad as more time in starters snookers class will pay off when we get higher up.

With Sally's only snookers outing she was eliminated bing bang - red jump, tunnel, second tunnel - SCRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEE - she'll work so far away from me that convincing her NOT to make up a course on the way back to me will be tricky - she is a gal and a half tho

Thea did really well in her first snookers outing (CPE) she easily got the points needed for her q and had a blast doing so

AAC she's running well - she's zippy enough that I can aim to do either sequences and adores the frame too so can easily do it 4 times in a round .. that evil teeter came to early on our last course tho - worth only 4 points it meant her run stopped at 29!

I'd love a trial that was just snookers :)

lazy days of holidays

well its rainy or snowy and the fire is roaring - we walk and warm up - walk and warm up - really quite wonderful and the dogs are just LOVING having us to themselves (with house guests to make them even happier) 5 nights here so far with TEN more ... I can't imagine how mellow we'll be by then ;)

nearly have my next major assignment done - I'm quite proud of myself
didn't bring one lick of marking home which is also something I'm proud of ;)

wonderful christmas so far - snowshoes, telescopes, great books, clothes - just amazing and not over yet :)
all I've worked on is sally's weaves - its a slow slow process especially in our little tv room - she can hardly get around them but I think its coming - won't be ready for January I don't think but we can slip past them on course - maybe get the entry and move on..

Hank wants to do agility so badly it makes me laugh - he is luring through the weaves and being so huge I can hold my hand above the poles to pull him through - too cute!

twas the night before the night before Christmas

and all around the dogs were collapsed in their beds,
with visions of varied things dancing in their heads.
Brody dreamed of weave poles that lead to the fridge
while Thea's head was full of cushioned images
Sally dreamed the crazy dreams that young dogs do
while Hank's thoughts were sober and true!

The people were scrambling to get things done
but the dogs made them stop and have some fun!

We are on HOLIDAYS - 2 whole weeks I hope - and I'm sitting here working on the next major school assignment - the final product is coming together fast which is good as I've done tons of leg work on it but I was worried it would be slow to gel .. hopefully I'll be done by tomorrow night and then can take a real break til I have to get my head around the next (and last) assignment!

a perfect agility blessing to head in 2008 with

Agility Blessing

May the tunnels not have too much suction,May the course be fun and fast.
May your dog not stop to say "hello"to the photographers they pass!
May the table not be too slippery,May the chute house no scary beasts,
May all the yellow parts be touchedwith one little toe, at least.
May the wind be always at your back,May no bars fall on the ground.
May the A-frame have no stop sign on the top,May the judge's whistle never sound.
May your dog obey all correct commandsAnd ignore the ones that are wrong.
May your heart be light, your feet be sureand the bond with your dog grow strong.
At the finish line, may great joy abound,regardless of your score,
You have your dog, your dog has you,,and who could ask for more?

Written by: PJ Hughes

Ibsen - aka Ibby

Ibby has settled well into his new home and I'm so lucky because it's within my family!Dad and Jean adopted him and I'm delighted for them and him. I cannot imagine an animal free house - and I don't think they could either. Ibby will LOVE getting spoiled rotten and all the one on one attention too. He is a bossy and dear little boots - just as cute and sweet as can be - and awfully easy going in many ways. He may have a UTI so cross your fingers it clears up fast - more stress is not something any of them need ;)

well we stayed home

and that was a very very very smart move ...
the weather is wild out there - we got stuck on the side streets ... (drove out of it but crazy nevertheless)

worked Sally on wait and mat work ... did 50 nose touches too ;)
Brody did his tricks
and Thea hated the snow and salt

the weather outside is snowing...

and that SUCKS. I should be packing Brody up to go to Royackers tomorrow for his first steeplechase since his first class in agility and his first try in advanced snookers BUT I don't know exactly where I'm going and the forecast is for 2 cm an hour all day - so even if I leave early it sounds like the drive both directions would be treacherous... Safety - I must think of safety - even when all I want is to think about AGILITY. My snow day alternate (a fun match right in TO) has already been cancelled ... bah phooey

WAIT Sally

poor Sally all she does is WAIT - she has to wait for breakfast, lunch, dinner, to go out of the door, to come in, to get a cookie, to get a toy, to get in the car, to get out of her crate, to get her leash on .... if she wants it she has to wait. Some things are WAYYYYYYYYYY harder to wait for then others tho - what a girl!

dear dear Ben

Dad and Jean helped Ben cross the rainbow bridge today.
He was a lovely gentle airdale. We had lots of fun finding him together and he was part of the family's original brat pack - romping with Rufus and Laurice - taking out tables and lamps indoors and being so happy when they all got together. He was always happy to see Tom and I right up til his death - I suspect happy puppies memories flooded the old guy too!
He faced many challenges over the years but kept bouncing back a little bigger brighter and happier!

My memories of him are all good- even housetraining a marking large dog somehow brings a smile to my face today

It's quite comforting to think of him playing with Rufus and Laurice again while they hang out waiting for us.

Another poem that brings me comfort when I've lost a friend:

Do not stand at my grave and weepI am not there;
I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow,
I am the diamond glints on snow,
I am the sun on ripened grain,
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning's hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry,
I am not there; I did not die.

why oh why do I have agile dogs?

agility is wonderful but .....

Sally can leap over the back of a wingchair

Brody will jump up onto a display table at the royal or all about pets just to say to people who are ignoring him (after being encouraged to do so ONCE)

Brody won't wait in a low ex pen for me (though I can leave him on a chair for half and hour with a wait cue)

Sally after practising table outside on a picnic table and some end tables thought maybe table inculded the dining room table

Sally thinks putting feeties up high on a chair and stretching to reach stuff on the mantel is just a new limbering motion

yah ... agility is great ;)

class night

tonight's class was interesting - lots of teeter work - board on ground, teeter between tables, surfing game Sally was amazing! Sophie was brave and happy too - fun to watch. 2x 2s from all kinds of angles ... no sweat 3 jumps across the space with the beginnings of a rear cross behind the dogs...

Practise makes perfect

well perfect practise does anyhow! Took it very slow and easy with Thea on the teeter tonight .. she looked ...I clicked... she touched ... I clicked- I sat on it and rewarded her for getting on it ... she was moving around on the bottom half of the board pretty well and we did tons of listen to the bang and treat her ... hopefully we'll have a break though soon! Brody was having fun running and on the teeter too. Sally was hilarious - like thats anything new! She bounded and bounced and raced through the 2 X 2s... she is too much! Sophie was a super star too :)

One of the toughest things

I'm finding about agility is figuring out my scheduling issues

can I do one day of a trial and get what I need/want from it?

should I do two days?

how many classes can each dog do?

how many classes my pocket book afford?

can I cope with running at all three levels?

Jan 4 and 5 should be hiliarous - I'm doing something like 16 runs bwteen three dogs - its a good venue for me to push myself a bit -the kingston folks know me and will laugh with me adn the starters/advanced ring is totally enclosed hockey ring - it actually bothered me when I first ran in it (just been there once) but Brody was instantly ok with it - so hoping the girls are too

I have to decide how to move Brody up for the upcoming weekend too - still can't wrap my head around that ... nobody told me about the administrative thinking involved in agility when I started playing ;)

cheers

(the picture here is one of the only dogs here who will never do agility - Ibby has actually just found his forever home - and while I'm happy for him I'm also very sad for me..thanks to Nancy Franklin for her amazing picture!)

Class night

Class is always fun. Tonight there were only three dogs so we all got to work lots. Sally was hitting weaves entries from all over the place - very nice to see. Ran full height teeter between two tall tables - easy peesy for the brave girl! Zipping circle at the end too - loads of fun. Brody came and watched and got treats and burned up lots of calories wishing he was playing. Sally's sister Sophie was great to watch as always too :)

WAHOOOOOOOO

go brody
go brody
go brody

Brody finished his starters games title today with a smoking team run ... not one wrong foot or even a close to wrong foot - which was lovely as his partner was SLOW SLOW SLOW ... as a team we used up almost all the very generous time and Brody was smokin'

our advanced standard runs were good too but one little bobble in each kept the qs at bay ....

he has tons of energy tonight and is raring to play again ;)

thea ran a sweet little snookers run ... 29 points and the teeter was only the 4th obstacle ...brody's snookers run was simply awesome ... one little blip out towards the in gate meant 36 points not 42 but he only needed 32 for the q ;)

WAHOOOOOOOOOO

Brody Rocks ...

Nice day today :) tho too cold for my little guys

the first run of the day was Thea's starters jumpers .. if the chute had been a bit later on course I suspect she would have blasted through it ... sadly as the second obstacle it looked too hard to the little bug

She did the rest of the course flat out and with great joy tho ;)

Then Brody had masters jumpers - he ended up fourth in his group with one run out- there were nine dogs in his group - I was worrying about a complicated serpentine coming up and didn't give him the info he needed about the moment we should both have been in so he tried to guess the course ... however 5 faults was pretty impressive for our first try on a course many of the folks who have been running for ages thought was tough!

Our two advanced standard courses were quite nice too - the first course Brody missed the entry to the weaves .. they were new weaves so I wasn't totally shocked - the second course he simply slid off the far side of the table - I didn't get there fast enough... DUH

the snookers course was sweet tho - Thea ran her heart out for 3 sevens and looked fluid doing so - unfortunately the teeter was obstacle 4 and it stopped us :( but she got 29 points - one of the highest scores
Brody was a bit distracted but responsive - we did 2 sevens and one five (I wasn't sure he'd do the aframe three times honestly) and was 2 footsteps from completing the number 6 series ... however he wracked up 36 thrilling points for a Q!

Only team left for his starters games title ;)

a fun day all round - for all three of us